Opinions on moving to the area?

Question

Hey everyone, I’m in Pittsburgh now but considering moving to the Cary/Raleigh/Chapel Hill area.

Looking to get locals’ opinions on the livability/quality of life of the area, as well as the local investing scene.

We’d like to rent at first, understand the area, then hopefully buy an off market or rehab property to live in, make into what we want, and at least break even or have equity in it.

We’re interested in living in walkable/bikeable areas with good schools and relatively low costs of living.

Does that exist? Any recommendations or feedback is appreciated.

Eric F. · Answer

A lot of Raleigh, especially the outskirts, are not very walkable. It is a pretty new city and was built for cars. I live in Midtown Raleigh and there is one strip mall I can walk to with a couple of restaurants, a grocery store, etc. (no coffee shop though) but most destinations involve getting in a car. Forget public transportation. When I moved from downtown to where I live now I looked up taking a bus to work and it was basically an hour vs a 20 minute drive. We do have a really good greenway system for running/biking/etc. Umstead Park is great for hiking. We take our dogs there quite often when the weather is nice.When I lived and worked near downtown (lived in Oakwood) I almost never drove. I rode my bike or motorcycle almost everywhere. I went so long without turning on my car the battery died. That being said, now that I am older and debatably smarter I don't ride my bicycle on roads anymore. We have very few dedicated bike lanes and with texting and driving it is just too dangerous. I think I am selling my motorcycles soon and quitting that as well. This is not exclusive to Raleigh of course but it just seems too dangerous now. I can't ride my motorcycle 5 times in a row without almost getting crushed. I probably had six "that is it, I'm done, I'm selling this thing" near calls on my motorcycles last year. I don't have kids yet so but I went to schools here and they were not bad back then. I am one of the rare people who live here that was born here. Our schools are not perfect but I guess no schools are. I know some people who moved to NC (more in Charlotte than Raleigh) from Pittsburgh and none moved back. I think I know 7 people who are Steelers fans (not sure how many are from Pittsburgh itself) and they are all still here.I am biased but I really don't think there are many better places to move, especially if you have a family. It is safe, the economy is very diverse and strong. We don't have one industry or factory so we can ride out a lot of economic swings better than most places. Charlotte got smoked in 2008 (banking dominated) compared to Raleigh. All that being said, sorry our city is full now ;)

Chris Gordon · Answer

@Anthony Angotti, will do.

Anthony Angotti · Answer

@Loretta Ratica Any suggestions for Chris?Also, I have a good friend that lives there @Chris Gordon. Link up with me today or Thursday at REIA and I'll get you in touch with him. He's starting to rehab houses in that area too.

Chris Martin · Answer

Like Eric said, "...sorry our city is full now ;)" And Chris don't show up Friday at the PNC Arena wearing Pengins stuff. Too much of that here already. Regarding "I think I am selling my motorcycles soon and quitting that as well." Sell before you are dead. I had a KZ-750 until I wrecked it dodging other road hazards. Even my brother sold his Harley for similar reasons... so I know it's bad. Regarding "Charlotte got smoked in 2008 (banking dominated) compared to Raleigh." While true, Raleigh and RTP got smoked in 2001-2002 because of our telecom concentration. Nortel, BNR, Alcatel, IBM, and other smaller companies took it on the chin. The RTP area economy diversified because the top employers, effectively, went out of business. The local (Raleigh/RTP) 2002-2003 recession resulted in a huge spike in local foreclosures that rivaled that of the great recession of 2008-2010. Anyway... Lot's of transplants in the capitol city. Lots from western PA (including myself circa 1970-1982) but I don't forget that I live in NC on the day of an NHL game;)

Emily Kessler · Answer

I've been living in Raleigh for over 4 years. We bought our own home last July and just bought our first rental property a few months ago. Cost of living is fairly good, especially compared to the North. If you're looking to live near the downtown area, that's getting a bit more expensive as Raleigh is quickly growing, but I think you can still get some good deals if you're willing to rehab. The rental unit we just bought it outside the beltline on the northwest side of the city, but we're looking at buying something close to downtown next that we can fix up. In terms of living somewhere walkable, it just depends what you want to be able to walk to and what type of house you want. If you want to be able to walk to downtown Raleigh, it's pretty expensive, especially if you want a SFH vs a condo. However there are other walkable areas like around NC State campus, Cameron Village, North Hills, and the small towns around Raleigh (Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina) that could offer that experience at a cheaper price. Let me know if you have any other questions! I would share more of my investing experience, but like I said we just bought our first rental and only signed our lease with tenants last week, so I don't have much to report on yet.

Rachel Moy · Answer

@Chris Gordon, have you done much research in those areas? Would love to exchange information with you down the road. My relocation target date is sometime in April. When do you plan to move to NC?

Rachel Moy · Answer

Hi. I am also interested in relocating to this general area...Raleigh/Cary/Apex/Chapel Hill. I'm looking for a neighborhood that has clean and clear sidewalks, and that I can do a 4 miles run (2 miles each way is fine, too). Looking forward to seeing what locals have to say. Thank you for the post.